When should the valve be assessed for bicuspid or unicuspid morphology?

When should the valve be assessed for bicuspid or unicuspid morphology?

• A. Systole
• B. End systole
• C. Diastole
• D. Mid-diastole

Answer: (C)

Focusing on when the aortic valve morphology is best seen helps you distinguish how many cusps are truly present and whether there’s fusion. You want a stable, well-defined view of the cusp edges, and that comes when the valve is closed and coapting in diastole. In this phase the leaflets sit at their resting positions, making the number of cusps and any fusion pattern easier to identify on standard views without the blur of opening and closing. If you try to judge morphology during systole when the valve is opening, motion can obscure cusp boundaries and create ambiguity about whether a raphe or cusp fusion is truly present. So the diastolic phase provides the clearest, most reliable view to determine bicuspid versus unicuspid morphology.

Focusing on when the aortic valve morphology is best seen helps you distinguish how many cusps are truly present and whether there’s fusion. You want a stable, well-defined view of the cusp edges, and that comes when the valve is closed and coapting in diastole. In this phase the leaflets sit at their resting positions, making the number of cusps and any fusion pattern easier to identify on standard views without the blur of opening and closing. If you try to judge morphology during systole when the valve is opening, motion can obscure cusp boundaries and create ambiguity about whether a raphe or cusp fusion is truly present. So the diastolic phase provides the clearest, most reliable view to determine bicuspid versus unicuspid morphology.